PVD apparatus and method with deposition chamber having multiple targets and magnets

ABSTRACT

A thin film deposition system and method provide for multiple target assemblies that may be separately powered. Each target assembly includes a target and associated magnet or set of magnets. The disclosure provides a tunable film profile produced by multiple power sources that separately power the target arrangements. The relative amounts of power supplied to the target arrangements may be customized to provide a desired film and may be varied in time to produce a film with varied characteristics.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/307,242, filed on Nov. 30, 2011, and entitled “PVD APPARATUS ANDMETHOD WITH DEPOSITION CHAMBER HAVING MULTIPLE TARGETS AND MAGNETS,” thecontents of which is hereby incorporated by reference as if set forth inits entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The disclosure relates, most generally, to semiconductor manufacturingtools and methods. More particularly, the disclosure relates to aphysical vapor deposition (PVD) apparatus and method with a multi-targetdesign in which different targets are powered by separately controllablepower sources and deposit different materials onto a substrate.

BACKGROUND

Sputtering and other types of physical vapor deposition (PVD) arecommonly used in the semiconductor manufacturing industry to depositfilms on substrates. PVD is a deposition process that takes place in thegas phase in which a source material is physically transferred to asubstrate in a vacuum. PVD includes thermal and e-beam evaporation inaddition to sputtering. PVD is commonly used to deposit metals, barriermaterials and oxides. The source material is typically present in atarget which acts as a cathode in the deposition operation.

In sputtering cathodes, the source material provided in the form of atarget is eroded by energetic ions from a plasma discharge and thematerial liberated by the ions deposits as a thin film on the substratevia physical vapor deposition, PVD. The plasma discharge is generallymaintained in an evacuated process chamber, i.e., a vacuum chamber,under controlled flow of a working gas with an electric potential anddischarge current applied by a power supply between the target cathodeand an anode.

In the case of electrically conductive target materials, the target maybe supplied with a continuous or pulsating negative voltage, such that aplasma forms above the target surface. By means of an electrical fieldformed between the plasma and target surface, positively charged ionsfrom the plasma are accelerated toward and onto the negatively biasedtarget surface, i.e., the cathode, bombarding the target surface andcausing erosion of the target by freeing materials from the target andresulting in material being sputtered away from the target surface. Theliberated material from the eroding target is directed to a substratesuch as a semiconductor substrate or other workpiece positioned in thedeposition chamber.

In magnetron sputtering systems, the plasma density above the target isstrongly increased by means of magnetic fields. Ions in the high plasmadensity region produced by the magnetic field, become highly energized.The magnetic fields are produced by a magnet arranged in close proximityto the target. The magnet is typically disposed on the side of thetarget opposite the target sputtering surface, i.e. behind the target.

In conventional magnetron sputtering systems, however, the target willhave an uneven erosion profile. Regardless of its shape, the targeterodes more preferentially at specific locations with respect to thefixed magnetic fields of the magnet. The uneven erosion profile of thetarget may result in poor uniformity of the deposited film and unevenfilm characteristics across the substrate. For example, poor stepcoverage may be achieved at some spatial locations of the substratewhile good step coverage may be achieved at other areas of thesubstrate.

In today's rapidly advancing semiconductor manufacturing industry andwith semiconductor devices having increasingly miniaturized features, ithas become increasingly important to overcome the shortcomings of theart and provide deposited thin films with superior uniformity andconsistent qualities.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The present disclosure is best understood from the following detaileddescription when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing. Itis emphasized that, according to common practice, the various featuresof the drawing are not necessarily to scale. On the contrary, thedimensions of the various features may be arbitrarily expanded orreduced for clarity. Like numerals denote like features throughout thespecification and drawing.

FIG. 1 is an embodiment of a schematic view of a PVD target magnetarrangement in a deposition chamber in accordance with the disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing magnetic fields according to oneembodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 3 is an embodiment of a top view of a PVD target and magnetarrangement according to the disclosure; and

FIGS. 4A and 4B are schematic views each showing an embodiment of amulti-target arrangement and a film produced on a substrate by theassociated multi-target arrangement.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing an embodiment of a process chamberarrangement according to the disclosure. Process chamber 2 isrepresentative of a PVD deposition chamber in a PVD deposition tool andmay be a magnetron sputter deposition process chamber according to oneexemplary embodiment. The PVD deposition tool may include a plurality ofprocess chambers 2. Process chamber 2 may advantageously be a vacuumchamber capable of being accurately maintained at low pressures. Processchamber 2 may also include inlet and outlet ports for the controlledflow of a working gas, typically argon or other inert gases, but suchports are not shown in FIG. 1 and various other gases may be used.Process chamber 2 may take on various configurations and theillustration of FIG. 1 is intended to be exemplary only.

Process chamber 2 is a deposition chamber that includes a targetarrangement consisting of a plurality of target assembly embodimentssuch as target assembly 4 and target assembly 6. Target assembly 6 iscentrally disposed within process chamber 2 and target assembly 4 is anannular target assembly that surrounds target assembly 6. Both of theopposed sides of target assembly 4 are illustrated in cross-section inFIG. 1. Target assembly 6 includes target 8 and associated magnet 10.Target assembly 4 includes target 14 and associated magnet 16. Accordingto one embodiment, targets 8 and 14 are formed of different materials.Either or both of targets 8 and 14 may be formed of various suitableconductive materials used in the semiconductor manufacturing industry,according to one embodiment. Targets 8 and 14 may be formed of a singlematerial or binary or ternary materials, in various exemplaryembodiments. According to various exemplary embodiments, the materialsof targets 8 and 14 may be copper, copper oxide, copper silicon, copperaluminum, copper manganese, copper aluminum silicon, aluminum, aluminumcopper, aluminum silicon, aluminum silicon copper, aluminum nitride,aluminum oxide, antimony, antimony telluride, barium, barium ferrite,barium titanate, barium fluoride, barium strontium titanate, bismuth,bismuth oxide, bismuth selenide, bismuth telluride, bismuth titanate,boron, boron nitride, boron carbide, cadmium, cadmium selenide, cadmiumsulfide, cadmium telluride, carbon, cerium, cerium fluoride, ceriumoxide, chromium, chromium oxide, chromium salicide, cobalt, cobaltoxide, dysprosium, erbium, europium, gadolinium, germanium, hafnium,hafnium carbide, hafnium nitride, hafnium oxide, holmium, indium, indiumoxide, indium tin oxide, iridium, iron, iron oxide, lanthanum, lanthanumaluminate, lanthanum hexaboride, lanthanum oxide, lead, lead telluride,lead titanate, lead zirconate, lead zirconate titanate, lithium niobate,magnesium, magnesium fluoride, magnesium oxide, manganese, manganeseoxide, molybdenum, molybdenum carbide, molybdenum disilicide, molybdenumoxide, molybdenum disulfide, neodymium, tungsten, titanium, titaniumboride, titanium carbide, titanium monoxide, titanium disilicide,titanium dioxide, titanium nitride, titanium tungsten, TiW, tungsten,tungsten carbide, tungsten oxide, tungsten disilicide, tungstendisulfide, tungsten titanium, tungsten nitride, silver, gold, palladium,platinum, praseodymium, rhenium, rhodium, ruthenium, samarium, selenium,silicon, silicon carbide, silicon dioxide, silicon monoxide, siliconnitride, strontium, strontium titanate, tantalum, tantalum carbide,tantalum nitride, Tantalum oxide, tantalum salicide, tellurium, terbium,tin, tin oxide, nickel, nickel chromium, nickel iron, nickel oxide,nickel vanadium, nickel platinum, niobium, niobium carbide, niobiumnitride, niobium oxide, vanadium, vanadium carbide, vanadium oxide,ytterbium, ytterbium oxide, yttrium, yttrium oxide, zinc, zinc oxide,zinc selenide, zinc sulfide, zinc telluride, zirconium, zirconiumcarbide, zirconium nitride, zirconium oxide, dielectric materials, orother materials. Target assemblies 4 and 6 have separate power sources.Target assembly 4 includes dedicated power source 20 and target assembly6 includes dedicated power source 24. Power sources 20 and 24 may be RFor DC or other suitable power sources, and may provide pulsating orcontinuous power.

For target assembly 6, the north “N” and south “S” poles of magnet 10are shown and clockwise direction 28 indicates the direction that magnet10 rotates with respect to target 8. Magnet 16 of target assembly 4 alsohas its respective north and south poles identified and clockwisedirection 30 indicates the direction that magnet 16 rotates with respectto target 14 of target assembly 4. In one embodiment, magnet 16 may bean annular or generally round magnet that extends all the way aroundannular target 14 and in other embodiments, annular target 14 mayinclude a plurality of separate magnets that each rotate along clockwisedirection 30 with respect to target 14. Each of target 14 and 8 is infixed position.

In other exemplary PVD tool embodiments, the magnets may not be presentand the process chamber may include multiple separately powered targetsconfigured in various arrangements.

Returning to FIG. 1, materials from surface 34 of target 8 and fromsurface 36 of target 14 are sputtered from their respective targets dueto energized ions such as the illustrated argon atoms, and accelerate asindicated by arrows 40 toward and onto substrate 42. Substrate 42 may bea semiconductor substrate of various sizes according to variousexemplary embodiments although other workpieces may be used in otherembodiments. Substrate 42 rests on stage 46 which may be a fixed ormoveable component of process chamber 2. The erosion profiles of therespective targets 8, 14 is determined or at least influenced by themagnetic poles of the associated magnet. Regardless of its shape, atarget erodes more preferentially at specific locations with respect tothe magnetic fields that are produced by the magnets such as exemplarymagnets 10, 16, particularly when magnet 16 is an annular magnet thatrotates while maintaining its north and south magnetic poles asillustrated in FIG. 1. High erosion areas 48, 50 are generally disposedbetween adjacent north and south magnet poles. The presence of twotargets with separately controlled power supplies alleviates anyproblems such as uniformity problems that may be attributable to thespatially disposed high erosion areas when only a single target is used.This is true because the film deposited on substrate 42 is produced bysputtering from both target assemblies 4 and 6.

Each of the target arrangements 4, 6 is disposed and adapted to deposita film on the same substrate 42. Various configurations of the targetassemblies may be used in addition to the exemplary configuration shown.According to one embodiment, deposition on substrate 42 may occur bysimultaneously applying power to both target assemblies 4, 6 usingrespective, separately controlled power supplies 20, 24. The targets maywork in tandem to produce a relatively homogenous film formed of afairly consistent ratio of material from target 14 and material fromtarget 8. The ratio may be varied by changing the relative amount ofpower applied to target assemblies 4 and 6. In another embodiment, thevarious target assemblies 4, 6, may preferentially deposit materials ondifferent spatial locations on substrate 42. According to eitherembodiment, the relative amount of material sputtered from therespective targets can be varied by varying the power applied to thetarget assemblies. According to one exemplary embodiment, an initialdeposition may occur using a first power ratio, i.e. the relative amountof power applied by power sources 20 and 24. During the initialdeposition, the deposited film may be a homogenous or non-homogenousfilm, with a composition determined by the relative power levels appliedto the respective target assemblies 4, 6. After an initial depositionperiod that forms an initial film thickness, the power ratio may bechanged to form a homogenous or non-homogenous film with a differentcomposition. In addition to a power ratio between the two exemplarytargets that are simultaneously powered and simultaneously depositmaterials, another embodiment provides for time periods in which poweris supplied to only one of the targets with the other target sittingidle. Exemplary embodiments of the various deposition techniques will beshown in FIGS. 4A and 4B.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing an exemplary round magnet 50 withindicated North and South magnetic poles and shows that the maximummagnetic field 52 is disposed between adjacent north and south magneticpoles. When target 50 is disposed along the back surface of a targetsuch as shown in FIG. 1, high erosion areas 48, 50 will be produced atportions of the target aligned with maximum magnetic field 52.

FIG. 3 is a top view showing a target arrangement according to anotherembodiment of the disclosure. Target arrangement 56 includesconcentrically arranged targets including central target 58,intermediate target 60 and outer target 62. Intermediate target 60 andouter target 62 are both generally circular in shape and this isintended to be exemplary only. Intermediate target 60 and outer target60 may be ovoid in other embodiments. Isolation regions 66 and 68 arepresent between the targets to insure that the targets 58, 60, 62 areelectrically isolated from one another and therefore can be separatelyelectrically controlled. Power source 70 powers central target 58, powersource 72 powers intermediate target 60 and power source 74 powers outertarget 62. Each target is separately controlled such that the relativeamounts of power supplied to the targets throughout the depositionprocess can be varied, in order to customize the composition of thedeposited film. The relative amount of power applied by power sources70, 72 and 74 may be varied throughout the deposition process and powersources 70, 72 and 74 may be used simultaneously or at separate times.Power supplies 70, 72 and 74 work independently and may provide DC or RFpower according to various exemplary embodiments. In the illustratedembodiment, it can be seen that two magnets 50 are associated withcentral target 58. Two magnets 50 are also associated with intermediatetarget 60 and with outer target 62. The respective clockwise arrows suchas arrow 78 indicates that the two magnets 50 rotate with respect totheir respective target. In other words, each target assembly in FIG. 3includes a target and an associated set of two dedicated magnets 50 anda separately and independently controllable power supply.

FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate various advantageous aspects of an embodimentof the disclosure and are presented generally in schematic form. In FIG.4A, target assemblies 80 and 82 are disposed side by side and eachtarget assembly represents a target and associated magnet or magnets,and power source. Film 96 with film portions 92 and 94 represents a filmproduced by target assemblies 80 and 82. The target in target assembly80 is formed of material A and the target in target assembly 82 isformed of material B. Materials A and B may be any of various suitablematerials. The deposition zone 84 of target assembly 80 is indicated byarrows 86 which represent material being sputtered from target assembly80 and the deposition zone 98 of target assembly 82 is indicated byarrows 88 which represent material being sputtered from target assembly82. Deposition zones 84 and 98 are spatially separated and indicate thattarget assemblies 80 and 82 preferentially deposit material in differentlocations on workpiece 90.

Film 96 is formed on workpiece 90 and includes film portion 92 formed ofmaterial A from target assembly 80 and film portion 94 formedsubstantially of material B from target assembly 82. Film 96 may beformed according to a process in which a higher power is applied totarget assembly 80 during initial stages in the deposition process suchthat the lower portions and left-hand side portions of film 96 arepreferentially formed of material A, i.e. film portion 92. As thedeposition process continues, the relative amounts of power may bechanged such that relatively more power is applied to target assembly 82resulting in the upper portions and right-hand side of film 96consisting of a higher percentage of material B, i.e. film portion 94.In one exemplary embodiment, only target assembly 80 may be poweredinitially and only target assembly 82 may be powered during latterstages, while in other exemplary embodiments, power may be continuouslyprovided to both target assemblies 80 and 82 simultaneously. Bothmaterial A and material B may represent a single material, a binarymaterial or other composite materials.

In some exemplary embodiments, the target arrangement may be configuredsuch that during any deposition stage, the film produced on substrate 90is a homogenous film formed of combination of materials A and B in afirst ratio, and when the relative power applied to the targets ischanged, the ratio of materials A and B in the film which may remainhomogenous, may change. In one embodiment, an initial, lower thicknessof the deposited film may be homogenous and include components A and Bin a 1:5 ratio and an upper thickness of the deposited film may includecomponents A and B in a 5:1 ratio. This is, of course, intended to befor illustrative purposes.

Now turning to FIG. 4B, the illustrated target arrangement may includeconcentric target assemblies including central target 100, formed ofmaterial B, intermediate target 102 formed of material A and outertarget 104, formed of material B. Central target 100 may be centrallydisposed with intermediate target 102 being annular and surroundingcentral target 100 with outer target 104 also being annular andsurrounding intermediate target 102. This configuration represents oneembodiment only and each target 100, 102, 104 represents a target thatis part of a target assembly with an associated magnet or magnets, and aseparately controllable power source, not shown. Deposition arrows 108are shown within deposition zone 120 of outer target 104 consisting ofmaterial B, deposition arrows 110 are shown within deposition zone 124of intermediate target 102 consisting of material A and arrows 112indicate deposition zone 126 of central target 100 which deposits and isformed of material B. Substrate 130 includes film 132 formed ofmaterials sputtered from targets 100, 102 and 104. Film 132 includesportion 134 formed substantially of material A and portion 136 formedsubstantially of material B. According to this embodiment, a higherpower may be supplied to target 102 than to targets 100 or 104 duringinitial stages of the deposition process, preferentially depositingmaterial A. During latter stages of a continuous deposition process, ahigher power is provided to targets 100 and 104 formed of material B,than is provided to intermediate target 102 formed of material A. Thisproduces film 132 which includes a lower portion, portion 134, formedprimarily of material A and upper and outer portions, i.e. portion 136,formed primarily of material B. Either or both of materials A and B maybe composite materials. Although the illustrated embodiment shows thatportion 134 is formed primarily of material A and portion 136 is formedprimarily of material B, this is exemplary only. In other embodiments,either or both of portions 134 and 136 may include a homogeneous orother mixture of materials A and B, and materials A and B may be presentin various compositional ratios. In still other exemplary embodiments,various other film portions formed of various compositions of materialsA and B may be produced.

The deposited film includes a tunable film composition produced bymultiple power sources that separately power the associated targetarrangements. The relative amounts of power supplied to the targetarrangements may be customized to provide a desired film and may bevaried in time throughout a continuous or discontinuous depositionprocess to produce a film with varied characteristics. In oneembodiment, a concentration gradient of material A or B or both, may bepresent from top to bottom of the film.

According to one aspect, the disclosure provides a film depositionsystem including a deposition chamber with a target arrangementincluding a plurality of target assemblies therein, each target assemblyincluding a target member and dedicated magnet or set of dedicatedmagnets, each target assembly having a separately controllable powersource and a stage for receiving a workpiece thereon.

According to another aspect, provided is a method for depositing a filmon a substrate using physical vapor deposition (“PVD”). The methodincludes: providing a deposition tool including at least one depositionchamber with a plurality of deposition target assemblies, each includinga target member and at least one associated magnet; and depositing afilm using physical vapor deposition, by powering a first targetassembly of the plurality of target assemblies with a first DC power andby powering a second target assembly of the plurality of targetassemblies with a second DC power, the target members formed ofdifferent materials.

According to yet another aspect, provided is a method for depositing afilm on a substrate using physical vapor deposition (“PVD”). The methodincludes: providing a first target formed of a first material and asecond target formed of a second material; depositing a film by firstapplying a first power to the first target and a second power to thesecond target with the first and second powers forming an initial powerratio; and continuing to deposit a film by providing power to the firsttarget and the second target using a different power ratio.

The preceding merely illustrates the principles of the disclosure. Itwill thus be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able todevise various arrangements which, although not explicitly described orshown herein, embody the principles of the disclosure and are includedwithin its spirit and scope. Furthermore, all examples and conditionallanguage recited herein are principally intended expressly to be onlyfor pedagogical purposes and to aid in understanding the principles ofthe disclosure and the concepts contributed by the inventors tofurthering the art, and are to be construed as being without limitationto such specifically recited examples and conditions. Moreover, allstatements herein reciting principles, aspects, and embodiments of thedisclosure, as well as specific examples thereof, are intended toencompass both structural and functional equivalents thereof.Additionally, it is intended that such equivalents include bothcurrently known equivalents and equivalents developed in the future,i.e., any elements developed that perform the same function, regardlessof structure.

This description of the exemplary embodiments is intended to be read inconnection with the figures of the accompanying drawing, which are to beconsidered part of the entire written description. In the description,relative terms such as “lower,” “upper,” “horizontal,” “vertical,”“above,” “below,” “up,” “down,” “top” and “bottom” as well asderivatives thereof (e.g., “horizontally,” “downwardly,” “upwardly,”etc.) should be construed to refer to the orientation as then describedor as shown in the drawing under discussion. These relative terms arefor convenience of description and do not require that the apparatus beconstructed or operated in a particular orientation. Terms concerningattachments, coupling and the like, such as “connected” and“interconnected,” refer to a relationship wherein structures are securedor attached to one another either directly or indirectly throughintervening structures, as well as both movable or rigid attachments orrelationships, unless expressly described otherwise.

Although the disclosure has been described in terms of exemplaryembodiments, it is not limited thereto. Rather, the appended claimsshould be construed broadly, to include other variants and embodimentsof the disclosure, which may be made by those skilled in the art withoutdeparting from the scope and range of equivalents of the disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system comprising: a deposition chamber with atarget arrangement including a plurality of target assemblies therein,each said target assembly including a target member and at least onemagnet having a north pole and a south pole oriented in a plane parallelto a surface of said target member, wherein each of the at least onemagnets is an annular magnet having said north pole concentricallypositioned within said south pole, each said target assembly having aseparately controllable power source.
 2. The film deposition system asin claim 1, wherein said plurality of target assemblies includes acentral target member and an annular target member surrounding saidcentral target member.
 3. The film deposition system as in claim 1,wherein said plurality of target assemblies comprises said targetmembers being concentrically arranged.
 4. The film deposition system asin claim 1, wherein each said target member is formed of a differentmaterial.
 5. The film deposition system as in claim 1, wherein each saidat least one magnet is rotatable with respect to said associated targetmember of said associated target assembly.
 6. The film deposition systemas in claim 1, wherein said plurality of target assemblies includes acentrally disposed first target assembly, an annular second targetassembly surrounding said first target assembly and an annular thirdtarget assembly surrounding said second target assembly and wherein eachof said plurality of target assemblies is adapted to deposit associatedtarget material on a workpiece.
 7. The film deposition system as inclaim 1, wherein said plurality of target assemblies are configured suchthat said target members are adapted to deposit materials on differentdeposition zones of a workpiece.
 8. The film deposition system as inclaim 1, wherein said plurality of target assemblies includes a firsttarget assembly having a first separately controllable power source anda second target assembly having a second separately controllable powersource, wherein said first separately controllable power source isconfigured to provide a first power to said first target and said secondseparately controllable power source is configured to provide a secondpower to said second target, wherein said first and second powersprovide an initial power ratio.
 9. The film deposition system as inclaim 8, wherein said first separately controllable power source andsaid second separately controllable power source are configured toadjust said first power and said second power to provide a differentpower ratio.
 10. The film deposition system as in claim 8, wherein saidfirst power is provided by said first separately controllable powersource and said second power is provided by said second separatelycontrollable power source simultaneously.
 11. The film deposition systemas in claim 1, wherein said plurality of target assemblies areconcentrically arranged.
 12. A system comprising: a deposition chamberincluding a first target member having a first associated magnetarrangement and a second target member having a second associated magnetarrangement, wherein each of the first and second associated magnetarrangements include north and south poles oriented in a plane parallelto a surface of respective first and second target members and havingthe north pole concentrically positioned within the south pole, whereinthe first and second associated magnet arrangements are rotatable withrespect to the respective first and second target members.
 13. The filmdeposition system as in claim 12, wherein each of said first targetmember and said second target member includes a central target memberand an annular target member surrounding said central target member. 14.The film deposition system as in claim 12, wherein said first targetmember and said second target member are concentrically arranged. 15.The film deposition system as in claim 12, wherein said first targetmember is formed of a first material and said second target member isformed of a second material.
 16. The film deposition system as in claim15, wherein said first target member is configured to deposit said firstmaterial in a first zone of the workpiece received on said stage andsaid second target member is configured to deposit said second materialin a second zone of said workpiece received on said stage.
 17. The filmdeposition system as in claim 12, wherein said first target member iscoupled a first DC power source and said second target member is coupledto a second DC power source, wherein said first power source isconfigured to provide a first power to said first target member and saidsecond power source is configured to provide a second power to saidsecond target member.
 18. The film deposition system as in claim 17,wherein said first power is and said second power are providedsimultaneously.
 19. A system comprising: a first target member having afirst associated magnet arrangement including an annular magnetarrangement having north and south poles oriented in a plane parallel toa surface of the first target member, wherein the north pole isconcentrically positioned within the south pole; and a second targetmember having a second associated magnet arrangement, wherein a surfaceof said first target member and a surface of said second target memberare coplanar.
 20. The system of claim 19, wherein said first targetmember and said second target member are concentrically arranged.